From what Reality Steve said on his blog (and he's never been wrong yet), the producers did more than just force Jason to end his relationship with Melissa during the After the Final Rose (AFR) show. The producers forced Jason to choose Melissa when he really wanted Molly (if he'd wanted Melissa, he would have had to choose Molly -- the point was that he had to propose to the one he DIDN'T want); then he had to break up with her on the show. The reasoning behind it was that the show had been kinda dull for quite some time -- none of the relationships after Trista and Ryan had worked out, and the show needed some real drama to keep viewers interested. It wasn't a shock to Melissa when Jason broke up with her on the AFR show -- he'd already broken up with her in real life, and he'd already been seeing Molly, even though he and Molly pretended they hadn't seen each other at all. The reason their wedding was televised (and the same reason applied to Trista and Ryan's wedding) was because that was one of the terms of the contract to be on the show. The contract states that if a marriage results within a specified period of time, then ABC holds all the rights to the wedding. Jason and Molly really didn't have much say in their wedding planning. Yes, Molly got to ultimately choose which particular gown she wore, but it was ABC that chose the designer. ABC chose the wedding planner, the cake baker, etc., etc. Jason and Molly's wedding was a one-show, two-hour event, unlike Trista and Ryan's. Primarily because viewers weren't as vested in their relationship as they were with Trista and Ryan's.

*Update - Well, the four of us did make it to The Chew on Tuesday and the show they were taping will be shown in most of the country on Friday, May 24th. It was very interesting to see how they shot the segments so out of sequence of the finished product. The tasters were filmed tasting the food before the hosts even began to prepare it. We completed a fun day with a visit to the American Folk Art Museum, late lunch at an Irish pub, a stop at Zabar's and some general roaming around. We took advantage of a new senior rate at one of the local bus companies for $21.50 round trip, which was a great savings. The only downside was that the show gave us these huge insulated tote bags filled with product placement samples, including a microplane zester, boxes of pasta, and large glass jars of Hellman's mayo. I like to travel light and didn't plan on toting all that around. All five co-hosts were there and interacted with the audience in between takes. Carla Hall is my favorite. We couldn't take photos during the shooting but I took one just before it started. I am truly blessed to have friends with adventuresome spirits.

Pammy, you weren't the only one who was put off by the accent. I'm a northerner who lived just south of Atlanta for 2+ yrs. I like the southern accent, but found Brenda's phony, I still do. I resisted watching the show for yrs because of it. However, my niece loves the show and insisted on watching while here one day and I got hooked on the plot and cleverness of the writing. I now love the show and watch it despite the accent.

Thanks for the replies..... I watched last night, and tried as I may, I failed to see any humor..... My son who watched with me, and has seen a few episodes before, claims that this was probably a "transition" show, introducing characters.... I didn't even know what kind of company this office is in (my son told me "paper sales"). I will give this another try (or two) since it seems to be quite popular.